


Following

by Asymptotical



Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Old Injuries, Post Main Game, Somewhere between Pre-slash and Getting Together, Vala survived the Proving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-01
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2020-04-06 03:16:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19054147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asymptotical/pseuds/Asymptotical
Summary: When Aloy didn't return from the battle at Meridian with the rest of the Nora, Vala decided to find her.Mostly by looking for the source of the biggest rumors of the worst trouble and waiting around for Aloy to show up to solve it for everyone, but it was a sort of looking.It worked.





	Following

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Serie11](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serie11/gifts).



Having to stay back while the reset of the warriors marched off to fight the worst machines they'd ever seen had been one of the worst days of Vala's life.

It should have been the day of the Proving; watching her friends fall. It should have been what came after, with the corrupted machines killing more and more people.

It should have been when older and more dangerous machines than she'd ever seen came crashing through the Embrace.

But she'd been able to fight those. Not as well as she wanted to, not with the holes that the Proving had left in her leg leaving her too weak to risk getting close to these new machines... but she'd had arrows to shoot, been able to fletch for others, and set traps as they were forced to retreat.

She couldn't leave with them though. They needed to move quickly. They needed to move far.

Vala could move quickly now, if she had to, but her leg was still too weak and if it gave out on her during such a long journey then she'd have been nothing but a burden.

She absolutely refused to be a burden.

So she'd watched, and she hated it. It didn't matter how many platitudes Varl was full of about needing to leave someone behind to defend the Sacred Lands. They all knew where the real enemy was.

And then they came back, somehow. Her brother returned with tales of strange places and more of those strange machines and Aloy doing more strange things.

It took an embarrassingly long time for her to realize the biggest thing that was wrong with how they came back.

And when she asked Varl, he had no answers as to where Aloy had actually gone _after_ saving the world.

 

* * *

 

Varl knew what she was about the moment she stalked up to him and instinctively raised a hand to fend her off. "How's your leg?"

"Have you heard anything?" she asked, ignoring him and doing her best to channel their mother. The effect... wasn't perfect. One day she'd perfect it. No one ever bothered to redirect her mother.

"That has nothing to do with your leg," her brother joked gently.

Vala sighed, "It's... it's fine. Same as yesterday. I'll need to be aware of it in battle, but as long as the enemy isn't aware of which side I'm weak on it won't be an issue." It had been long enough since the proving for it to be mostly healed, for a certain value of mostly. Good enough to fight. Good enough to travel on.

If the machines had waited a few months longer, she could have actually gone with the rest of the Braves to fight them. And maybe she would have been paying enough attention to keep Aloy from disappearing off to wherever she had disappeared to.

Or at least staying long enough to make certain someone thought to bring Aloy back with them. For all she knew they'd all turned tail and fled back to the Sacred Lands the moment that duty wasn't pulling them outside anymore. They definitely hadn't been chased out; the Carja had been sending all sorts of emissaries playing nice ever since the battle.

Made sense, they'd seen what the Nora could do up close.

"Look," Varl said, expression softening in a way that Vala did not like at all, "I know that you're worried about her, but she'll be fine. She knows what she's doing and when the time is right she'll come back to us."

"It's not--" Vala cut off glaring at her brother's amused expression. She liked that almost less than the soft. "Whatever you're thinking, that's not it. It's-- She's Nora. She should have returned with the rest of you, now that the danger is gone. And if there's a new danger, then some of us should be helping her face it."

"It's-- I'm sure it's fine."

Vala's eyes narrowed as she caught a bit of uncertainty in her brother's voice.

There _was_ something going on!

It wasn't an answer to Vala's issue, but... Well maybe that was the key.

She'd sat here waiting while the rest of the braves went off to fight in Meridian. Then she'd sat here waiting while Aloy was out fighting who knows what.

Maybe it was time to stop waiting. She could travel now. Carefully, and not as fast as she'd like, but she could.

"What's happening?" she demanded.

"Nothing!" Varl said, too fast. "Just rumors."

"Rumors that Aloy would follow?"

"If she heard them, maybe? But--" Varl cut off at her stubborn look, sighing. "You're set on this, then?"

"Yes." She wasn't actually entirely sure what 'this' was, actually, but she was getting answers for once so she was going to go with it.

He closed his eyes for a moment. "Alright. You probably shouldn't tell Sona though. She might try to stop you from leaving. We already almost lost you once and--"

"I know," Vala cut in, nails biting into her hands. "I know and I know that neither of you want to see me hurt. But I need to do this. I need to... prove that I can."

"You don't have to prove anything."

"Not to you," Vala scoffed.

Varl had never had to prove anything either, not to anyone but their mother... But when the call had come he'd been one of the first to stand up and leave, one of the first to take a step out of the Sacred Lands. Aloy trusted him, had called on him so many times through so much against such impossible enemies. How could Vala ever live up to that? They had gone into the unknown, and anything she did now would be a beaten path.

She knew, in her heart, that she didn't have to live up to it. That it wasn't her brother's fault he was so good at these things and she was doing the both of them a disservice by using him as a bar to reach. It was hard to ignore though, when it had been hovering over her head for her entire life.

Proving herself wasn't the point of this, not really. But... Aloy was on the unbeaten pathways. She always was. Or the paths so broken down that it was like walking someplace anew again. Even in the proving. Vala just had to catch up. Even if she couldn't pass her, she could be there, looking down along the unwalked pathways against the unfought enemies and... She could be there. And that would solve the rest of it.

Except for the bits that Varl was over there entirely making up in his own head, but there was no fixing him and his overactive imagination.

"Not to _anyone,_ " Varl responded gently, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Everyone knows that you would have been first out of the gate if you'd been well enough to fight."

Vala shrugged. "To myself?" It still felt like a lie... but it was closer. Maybe she'd use the travel time to figure out the words.

Her brother hesitated then shrugged with a wry smile. "You shouldn't have to prove yourself to yourself either, but alright."

"You'll tell me where she is then?"

He shook his head. "I don't know where she is. I don't think anyone does. She doesn't really... She doesn't tend to leave behind much of a trail."

Vala frowned. "Well, she's a brave, of course she doesn't, but she had to tell someone."

"You would think so... but she just kind of magically shows up when there's trouble. The only time we know where she's going to be is when she asks us to be somewhere or if we ask her to be somewhere."

"So where's the last place someone asked her to be?" Vala demanded.

Varl shrugged, infuriatingly unhelpful. "I don't know."

"You obviously knew something!"

Varl hesitated, then sighed. "There was a Banuk trader who was talking about some sort of corrupted machines up north. Last I heard she was in Mother's Crown, but she's probably moved on by now."

Vala went cold, "Corrupted, like..."

"I don't know." Varl looked uncomfortable. "It didn't sound like it? And it could be just someone exaggerating based on what happened here, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's the same thing. They definitely didn't describe anything like the ones the Carja were digging up from the ground, at least."

"I'm going to find that Banuk."

"She could be far gone and--" Varl hesitated. "You really want to get into this sort of trouble? Aloy tends to... have a knack for getting into strange old world issues that we don't really understand. Assuming she's even there. You could end up getting into this on your own if you go too far."

"I can handle it. I've been fighting machines since I was a kid."

"These aren't just--"

"I want to fight!"

He eyed her, looking a little more pensive that he normally would at that sort of outburst. "That the only reason you're going?"

She glared at him. "Yes. If Aloy's there, good. If not, I'll deal with it. They're machines, we know this."

"You sure?" He seemed a bit amused suddenly. Still mostly worried, but also a bit amused. "You talk about her a lot, for someone that you haven't talked _to_ much at all."

Vala huffed. "She's strong and blessed and always pulling off the impossible, of course I talk about her. _You_ talk about her! Everyone does."

He was changing the subject deliberately, she knew that, but it was pretty hard to not fall for the bait when her brother knew exactly how to get her.

"Mm."

"Don't you 'mm' at me." She always ended up feeling like a little girl when Varl got like this, and it could get infuriating.

"Well." He hesitated. "I would say that you could always go off on your own, but honestly I'd rather you were with Aloy."

Her eyes narrowed. "You don't think I could manage it."

"No-- not! Of course I do!" He exclaimed, waving his hands in front of him. "I just. You know I don't want you to get hurt. And, really, I'd rather Aloy wasn't alone out there either. You're both young and-- There's so much we don't know. I saw Meridian and it's-- It's so much."

Varl had told her about the city. She'd pried it out of him, every last detail. He hadn't liked it much and Vala didn't think she would either... but neither did Aloy and _she_ still walked in it when she needed to. She walked right up to the man who would call himself a god. And then right back out of it. If she could tolerate it then so could Vala.

 

* * *

 

Varl insisted on coming with her to Mother's Crown, the fussy mess. He was supposed to be at the gates, but of course when he said he was going on a trip for a bit everyone else adjusted.

Not that she minded, especially, it was a long walk.

She just didn't want anyone to think she needed _escorting_.

It was helpful though when he spotted some trader he knew and was able to go straight over to him and just... ask. Vala was pretty good at communicating, she thought, but her brother was perfect at getting things out of people. People liked to talk to him.

"Banuk girl said they'd never seen them like this. Said there's giant machine flowers sprouting all about and when they bloom the machines go crazy. She's was headed up towards the gates, you want to ask her."

"The already go crazy." She frowned. "They used to be much more peaceful."

"Worse, even," the Trader reassured her.

Well, he was probably warning her, but she took it as reassurance.

If that was true, Aloy would be there. This absolutely sounded like an Aloy thing. Either she'd be there, or she'd have already solved the whole issue and Vala would have a trail to follow.

"Thanks," Varl said, clasping the man's shoulder.

"Why you want to know anyways, looking for trouble?"

"Looking for things that need to be dealt with."

Varl was frowning as they stepped away from the man. When Vala raised an eyebrow at him, he sighed. "Aloy had mentioned finding new machines that looked like flowers in the Embrace."

Vala scowled. "We should deal with them quickly then, before they corrupt our machines too."

Varl hesitated. "She... seemed to like them? She said they were helping plants grow and such."

"And then later they'll corrupt machines."

"I... Well. You're looking for Aloy, if you find her, ask her. You should be able to send word to someone at an outpost."

Vala nodded, then hesitated. "She has to pass through the gates, right?"

"Well... There's two gates. If she came from too far north she could pass the other."

"Would she stop by Mother's Crown on her way?"

"Not unless she needed something from here specifically."

Vala frowned. "I... I'll go wait at... the gates. If she doesn't come then I'll go north myself."

Probably inside the gates. Outside was... too outside for her, yet.

 

* * *

 

Her skin crawled as she walked through the fort gates, but she refused to let it get the best of her, and especially refused to turn back. The guards didn't seem to mind her. They seemed... suspiciously friendly, actually.

She supposed everyone was trying to be friendly though, now. Aloy's doing.

When she told them that she was looking for Aloy, and mentioned the rumors about machines up north, one of them lit up all ready to talk.

It was a mostly useless conversation of things she already knew and things she'd already heard (or said herself) but he did point her to the trader she was looking for.

Once she found the woman and asked, the trader just gave her a worried shrug. "Sounds like you've heard the most of it then. Nasty stuff."

"When did it start?"

"Recently, all of a sudden."

"It could have been building," Vala pointed out, "And you just now noticed."

The Banuk woman shook her head. "The Shamans would have known if it was creeping."

At least she had a first hand account now. The energy these machines were leaking was _not_ filling Vala with comfort. She remembered seeing the swaths that the buried machines had left through the Embrace. There were places that wouldn't bloom for years yet.

It was tempting to turn right around and head towards the Banuk lands. If these were anything like what they'd fought before, they needed to deal with it as soon as possible. But they'd needed Aloy to defeat the last ones and they'd need her for these too. Vala was certain of it. It was all but etched into her bones.

And _this_ time if Aloy called the braves to go off to fight, Vala would be at the forefront.

 

* * *

 

Waiting was incredibly boring.

Temptation to do something came in the form of a giant flying machine. She heard of it before she saw it. A scout came back and what he had to say set the guards and traders to chattering worriedly.

It was enough to get her to go to that side of the wall, leaning against the smooth stone and peering out. She could see it somewhat in the distance (she could see _so much_ in the distance over this barren land). Tiny, but that far away it must be massive.

It lit Vala's blood. She'd never fought something like that before.

Aloy probably had. But Vala? Never.

So when the guards started talking about having to go hunt it, or to ask some of the hunters from Hunter's Rest, she volunteered.

They took one look at her, obviously armed for fighting monsters, and agreed.

It was nice.

They were probably used to looking at Nora girls and assuming they were good at things, thanks to Aloy. Vala would have to live up to it.

It made it easier to step through those gates, armed to the teeth with strangers looking at her like she could do anything.

She wasn't sure what she was expecting to feel when she passed over to the Carja lands.

Something, definitely.

But it was nothing. On one moment she was still in the Sacred Lands, then she took a step and she wasn't and it... it was just a step. It felt so incredibly wrong and also... like nothing.

Better to just concentrate on the machine they were going to fight than to think too much about that.

 

* * *

 

Her ropes were _not_ up to the task of tying down a Stormbird.

It was okay though, if they could trap it for a second, then they could get it down. Vala dodged behind a bit of stone, mourning the lack of trees in this area. There was so little to tie off on. So little to use as a natural barrier against the flying thing.

One of the guards was struggling with her rope gun. Why they hadn't brought more of their own with them, she didn't know, but once they were actually facing down the thing it was all too easy to share all of a sudden. She needed to focus on taking out its canisters and engines or they'd never get it down.

Hopefully he didn't break it, but the guards' aim was dismal in general compared to a proper Brave and relegating them to trying to tie the creature down seemed the safest option. Otherwise they were just sending arrows up in the air. At best they distracted the beast, at worst they created a dangerous hazard.

There was a decent chance that this would have been easier on her own. Did no one teach these people how to hunt properly?

The bird swooped, aiming a bit wide as it struggled to compensate for lopsided wing engines. The guard with the rope gun missed. Vala threw herself out of her hiding space and sent arrows flying into the machine's lightning gun.

One hit and it cracked. But didn't break. Damnit.

Then another arrow came flying in just before the bird flew back into the sky and shattered the gun, sending the bird careening down into the ground in a blast of sparks. Vala flung an arm in front of her face to shield it from the shockwave, then launched forward. If they could kill it now, while the remnants of its own shock attack had it on the floor, that would be ideal.

The guards with the rope managed to actually make a hit this time, now that their target was on the ground, another arrow flew past her, smashing open a cryo canister and sending frost spiraling over the massive machine.

It wasn't until moments later, when they were sure the thing was dead, that she turned around and realized who had shot those perfect arrows.

Of course.

"Oh! Hey Vala!" Aloy said, smiling widely at her and waving. She had been hanging back, bow in her hand. Maybe letting them take the kill? That would make sense, it seemed like something the Aloy from Varl's stories would do. It even seemed like something the Aloy she had met would do, without the urgency of winning the proving.

A tiny hidden part of Vala that had wondered if Aloy would even remember her eased. The rest of her that was thrilling for absolutely no logical reason she just... ignored.

"Aloy," she said in greeting.

"I'm surprised to see you out of the Sacred Lands." Aloy looked fairly happy about it though, and Vala was suddenly fiercely glad that she'd decided to push her misgivings aside and go on the hunt. This was far better than it would have been if Aloy had found her huddling in a Carja fort because she was scared of some sand and old taboos.

"Not far out," she said, tilting her head towards the very visible fortress.

"A single step was all it took, before." Aloy shrugged. "Are you exploring then?"

Vala shook her head, hesitating barely a moment. She couldn't just straight out and say she wanted to follow Aloy around (and that wasn't even what she wanted to do, but it was what it would _sound_ like if she said it!). She just-- Well, she had come here hoping to find Aloy looking into these new corrupted Machines so she could just say that? Why make it complicated. The danger was the important thing, not the complicated personal emotions that had led to her discovering the danger. "There have been machine flowers appearing in Banuk lands, corrupting the machines to madness. Like... Like before, but different."

"Have they shown up near here too?" Aloy frowned, looking concerned. As well she should. The Corruptors had been bad enough, another version wasn't something anyone wanted to deal with, even a stationary version.

Vala shook her head. "No, I was looking for you. I thought it might be best to investigate it together. You know about these things."

She had about five different arguments for why it was a good idea to bring her along, ranging from logical to emotional.

None of them were needed. Aloy just grinned at her. "Alright! Do you know any more? All I've heard so far are rumors of corrupted machines. The flower bit is new to me. Hopefully it's... Hopefully it's different flowers."

Vala relaxed. This would work then. No need to argue, just two braves going off to deal with a problem, as it should be. And she _did_ have information, thankfully. Not much, but enough to add, and a name for Aloy to ask any other questions she might have.

"Different flowers?" she asked, once she was done repeating everything she knew about the situation, curious.

"There are some that I'm familiar with but they seem... benevolent?" Aloy shrugged. "They only seem to be helping plant growth and the places I've found them in are peaceful, usually. Especially-- Well. That one isn't that important specifically, but as a rule the flowers seem to be a good thing." She ran a hand through her hair. "If they do turn out corrupted then at least I know where a lot of them are already, so we'll be able to go get them."

"But you don't think it's those."

"I hope it's not? It's nice to have some things of that that're just... doing good things and not going insane."

Vala nodded. She'd heard plenty about what the machines were like before the derangement, and knew plenty who yearned for that time. Hopefully Aloy wouldn't have to feel the same pain for these flowers she seemed to like so much.

 

* * *

 

Apparently, traveling with Aloy meant traveling how Aloy did.

On a _Strider_.

Vala swallowed as she stared at the beast that Aloy was urging her to get onto. When the other woman had disappeared towards the herd she'd asked Vala to stay back so they didn't risk startling them.

In theory Vala had known exactly what she was up to; they'd all seen Aloy riding one.

In practice, she really wasn't expecting to participate.

And there was just the one. She'd be riding behind Aloy on the Strider the _whole way_.

It... wasn't an entirely unpleasant idea. Yes it was odd but also. Well. She'd be right behind Aloy and she wasn't _blind_ and Aloy was very pretty.

Her emotions were doing five million flips though, entirely unnecessarily.

Vala convinced herself it was because of the absolute unnaturalness of riding a _Strider_.

She swallowed every bit of her that was rebelling against this and stepped hesitantly up to the machine.

It didn't do anything.

"Use this." Aloy beamed at her, patting on a small ledge on the machine's side.

Vala took a breath, then before she could think better of it she launched into motion, grabbing the machine's back, planting her foot on the ledge, and tossing herself up onto it. Her other foot settled on the same little ledge. They were oddly placed, as if meant for someone to use them that way (which was ridiculous, wasn't it?). She adjusted her bow slightly on her back, wanting to be able to shoot easily if she needed it, then glanced down at the thing.

It made her skin crawl to see it so close, to feel the buzz of it through her leathers. What if it lost control with her here?

She pushed the thought out of her mind. Aloy knew what she was doing. "How do you tell it where to go?"

"You have to use one of these." Aloy tapped the trinket at her temple, looking apologetic. "That's why we've got to share. Unless we found one for you--."

"No!" Vala reacted almost instantly, recoiling a bit. She regretted it at the expression on Aloy's face, but not enough to retract it. The idea of sticking something like that on her _head_ made Vala's skin crawl. "I'd, uh. You seem to know how to use it and-- This'll be fine."

The other woman almost looked like she wanted to say something else... but instead she just shrugged, dropping the subject as suddenly as it had started. "We'll want to keep an eye out for machines on the road. The Strider will help us fight but if the machine herds aren't threatening something it's probably best to just avoid them."

And then Aloy was climbing up onto the Strider, probably more slowly than she usually did judging by the awkwardness of the movements. She was-- She was probably trying to avoid kicking Vala, actually. They should have had Aloy get on first. Vala scooted back a bit as Aloy slid past her, trying to give the other woman room.

Aloy glanced back at her as she settled, smile a little bit strained in a way that absolutely did not make Vala feel guilty. There was nothing to feel guilty about not wanting old world stuff on her face.

Maybe she could have said it more diplomatically.

"You'll want to hold on to me. It takes a little bit of getting used to how to balance but you'll probably catch on quick."

Vala was wryly certain that while she absolutely _would_ want to hold on to Aloy, the whole 'back of a Strider' part wasn't going to make it a fun situation.

She didn't actually voice that though, just slid forward and wrapped her arms around Aloy's waist.

It was nice.

 

* * *

 

Before they headed into Banuk lands, they took a detour. Or, Vala assumed it was, because they'd talked about how far they could get on the Strider before needing to abandon it to climb instead, and this wasn't the route they'd discussed.

"I want to check something," Aloy said, noticing her discomfit. "You mentioned the machines corrupting things were flowers, right?"

"Yes. Varl said you found some?"

"Well... The ones I found didn't seem to do that, but it's best to check."

"If something's happened to them, then it would make sense if the ones closest to Banuk lands were first affected."

"Not always." Aloy shrugged. "It depends on how they connected to it. But... it's worth checking."

Vala wasn't certain exactly what she was expecting. The little flower, in its careful triangular ring of real flowers, was not it.

It didn't look like the sort of thing that would corrupt anything.

It bloomed as Aloy walked towards it, which made Vala tense a little. Maybe it was just greeting her? But if it was getting ready to attack...

Aloy didn't seem concerned though, she just smiled down at the little flowering machine and crouched next to it, staring at something only she could see.

"It looks normal," she said after a moment. "The poems are getting longer though."

"Poems?"

"Old world poems. I... I think this one's almost all of one. Did you know there used to be people who studied the stars? To learn how they worked I mean, and what's beyond them. Even before they knew how to make machines."

"It says that?"

"No, but the poem is about an Astronomer who's dying and my focus can define words. I already knew that one but, if I hadn't it would tell me what it was." Aloy reached out and gently stroked the petal of a flower. "Would you like to hear it?"

Vala hesitated then agreed with a quick nod. It was a piece of the old world... but a lot of Aloy was of the old world and this was something harmless.

Aloy's face lit up and she knew it had been the right decision.

 

* * *

 

It didn't take long after the climb to run into a corrupted machine.

Aloy frowned down at the sparking thing, after they defeated it.

"Different corruption?" Vala asked, mostly verifying. She'd seen the ones before and could see this one now. They looked different.

But looks weren't everything.

Aloy nodded. "Looks like. Which means whatever is up, it probably isn't Hades' doing somehow... That just means we don't know exactly what _is_ doing it, though."

 

* * *

 

It was a flower.

Aloy had argued with the Banuk while Vala mostly hung back, letting her do the talking. It was a little heartening that Aloy wasn't much better at it than she was. Maybe next time she'd suggest they bring Varl. He was good at such things.

Vala didn't really want to have him along but that was silly, and for silly selfish reasons. He'd tease her just for having the thoughts before very carefully offering to come, not wanting to push. She could play the entire conversation out already, without even needing to have it yet.

So off they were after a Shaman, and first they'd found the flower.

_Not_ one of Aloy's pretty little poetry flowers. This was different. Where that one had been small and peaceful, this was a giant waving... thing. Not even really a flower, either, more of a stalk.

It didn't take long for Aloy to figure out its weakness. "There," she said softly. "See on the back? Right at the base when it moved like that."

Vala nodded. They were hidden in the treeline, watching the corrupted creatures wander aimlessly around their corrupting flower.

"What will the machines do, once it breaks?"

They both tensed as the flower let out another pulse, "Probably go mad. It'll be a fight."

"Well, that I'm used to."

"Try not to get close to them. That corruption they're leaking seems to burn."

They'd seen the effects of the corruption on the plants the things had passed, and felt it from the first one they'd fought, but Vala took the warning in the faith it was meant. "I'll be careful."

They had a plan, of sorts. Shooting one correctly would hopefully stun the rest for a bit, and then once they got up they'd shoot the next of those. It would work.

Vala slipped a bit away, careful not to attract attention, and waited with an arrow ready, pulling it back once she thought it was almost time to shoot.

The plant pulsed again and her arrow flew, slamming into the device at the base and sending it shuddering into stillness.

The machines swung towards her, screaming, but before the sound barely had a chance to start Aloy's arrow was already hitting the Scrapper's power source, sending energy flinging through the rest of the beasts and knocking them to the ground. They took out both Watchers simultaneously with shots to the lens. By that point the rest were trying to get up, but Vala shot the second scrapper and sent them down again. Then two more grazers down.

She backed up a bit as one of the last few was able to launch itself up and flung itself towards her. Two others were going towards Aloy but she could deal with them.

This was one of the new ones. Sturdy, smoking, and fast.

Not very smart though.

It careened through the tripwires they'd set between it and her, the blast sending it sliding to the ground as it's former momentum sent it towards her and the frost suppressing the energy it was leaking for a moment. Vala flung herself forward, spear in hand, ready to finish the thing when it suddenly shook off the frost that _should_ have been holding it for a lot longer.

She felt her leg give out before it happened, a sharp pain shooting up for a moment in an eternity before she went stumbling. She was barely able to roll out of the way of the machine, swinging her spear up as she moved and dashing it against the machine's head with a crash. It wouldn't hurt it, but it would maybe buy her a bit of time.

And then Aloy came flying in, all red hair and blue streaks from that strange spear of her. As quickly as there'd been danger there was a smoking pile of machine.

"Are you okay!" she gasped out, skidding into the ground at Vala's side.

"I'll be fine," Vala reassured her, trying for more confident than she felt. She'd thought she was _past_ this.

"What happened?"

It was at least a little comforting that Aloy assumed something must have happened for Vala to make that sort of mistake. It was true, of course, but it was nice to hear the confidence.

"Old wound acting up," Vala dismissed, pushing herself up to sit and resisting the urge to rub at her leg. "I landed on it wrong, is all. I'll be fine."

Aloy wasn't bound by all the misgivings Vala had about her injury. The other woman glanced over her with a look that said she wasn't really looking at Vala so much as... something beyond her. And then she reached out for Vala's leg with a frown.

Vala was braced for her to ask about the Proving, but thankfully Aloy didn't say anything. Instead she stared for a moment longer before coming to some silent conclusion and pulling back.

Aloy glanced up at the darkening sky with a frown. "We should get moving. The nearest shelter that isn't-- Well, the nearest normal shelter is a bit off."

"You need to get your data."

"That'll take time."

"I can walk, get your data."

"It's better if you don't stress the muscle out more, we'll need to set a slower pace and rest up for longer--"

"Go get your data," Vala said slightly louder, glaring at her.

Aloy faltered a bit, clearly seeing _something_ in Vala's face. "I... okay."

Vala rested her head on her knees as she waited, ignoring the cold of the snow under her and the more ominous cold of the snow that was starting to drift down above her.

If she had to get left behind again because of her _leg_ she was going to be furious.

 

* * *

 

In the end they weren't able to make it to a 'normal' shelter. Aloy kept making noise about how she should have secured a Strider earlier, but even then there were so many ledges in this place that Vala doubted it would have been worth the effort.

Fortunately there was still shelter. Just... Well.

It was old world.

She settled into a corner well away from the remnants of a civilization that had... whatever they had done. Whatever doom they'd earned. Aloy probably knew. Whatever it was, Vala wanted nothing to do with it. If it weren't for Aloy being so clearly comfortable here Vala would take her chances with the snow. She almost wished she hadn't stubbornly refused to hurry earlier.

Almost.

At least with Aloy here it wasn't _cursed_. Though she could see why it would be. Ancient ghosts lingering through bits of machinery, their words stolen from the air and left to repeat and repeat and repeat with no one there to hear them. No wonder only certain special people could safely travel through these places. Anyone normal would go insane.

Aloy slipped up next to her, almost hesitantly, "Do you... mind if I check your leg? Just to see if it's mending alright! I'm sure it will, I just want to check--"

"It's fine." Vala interrupted, then realized at Aloy's frozen expression that she hadn't exactly been clear. "You can check."

Aloy smiled gently at her before leaning over her leg, her hands brushing over Vala's outer thigh as she looked over whatever the trinket was letting her see.

It was easy to imagine how warm Aloy's hands must be, if Vala didn't have that layer of thick fabric between them, especially compared to the cold outside. Or maybe they'd be cold, because of that, and need to be warmed--

Aloy glanced up, noticing her gaze, and came to the entirely wrong conclusion. "Do you... want to see?" Aloy asked hesitantly, hand halfway to her trinket.

Vala really did _not_ , but she remembered the look on Aloy's face the last time she'd said no. She had a feeling Aloy was someone who was used to people saying no. To a lot of things. The strange woman certainly seemed to try to make up for it by saying yes to everything.

Vala stared at the little harmless looking bit of metal. If she didn't know what it was she'd assume it was just a particularly pretty bit of scrap. Something she might have braided into her hair or stitched into her fanciest clothes. Aloy wearing it was fine, she was a seeker. She was special. She understood these things.

"It'll be safe, I promise," Aloy continued, face lit up in anxious earnestness. "It's mostly just a visual interface."

Vala didn't tell her that she had no idea what that meant. Something to be seen probably? She swallowed, hating the part of her that was this easily swayed by something as simple as an expression on a pretty (amazing, miracle-making) woman.

"Alright," she finally answered. Regretting the word the moment she said it. And then Aloy grinned brightly at her and she suddenly understood why some braves did incredibly dumb things to impress people.

This wasn't a feat of strength or dexterity though. Instead it was staying still as an ecstatic Aloy reached out and pressed her odd trinket to the side of Vala's face and--

And the world lit up.

Vala couldn't breathe. There was too much in front of her. Her skin itched at the strange old world thing on her face, but it was _Aloy's_ so she forced herself to calm, to look.

There was a lot of information that she didn't need, scrawling itself over the walls. It was... if Aloy could interpret all of that it explained some of how she was always so ridiculously good at spotting things. Of course, some of it might even be harder with all that bright stuff over everything. How did she even function at night?

Well, she could just ask.

"Doesn't all that make it hard to see?"

"You adjust quickly," Aloy reassured her, smiling. "Or, well, I did. But I've had one since I was a kid."

"The light though. It would be like carrying a torch all the time, except with none of the benefits and all of the reduced vision."

Aloy laughed, light and airy. "It adjusts for the ambient light, I think. I've never had an issue with it."

"Hm." Vala closed her eyes for a second, itching to rip the thing from her head. Steady.

"Do you see how it can scan your leg?" Aloy asked, gently bumping her shoulder.

Clearly she couldn't see, given that her eyes were closed, but she assumed Aloy was trying to be encouraging.

She... didn't really understand what it was saying when she looked at her leg. Something about her muscle, something about-- really it was all a confusing mess of things that didn't quite fit with the words it was trying to use. How could Aloy even use this thing?

After what seemed like an acceptably not-cowardly amount of time looking, she pulled the trinket from the side of her head and handed it back to Aloy.

That... really hadn't been as bad as she was worried. If she'd been given it by anyone other than Aloy then that in itself would have been a cause for concern, but it _was_ from Aloy so...

"Do you... I could get you one?" Aloy offered, hesitant as she stuck the trinket back where it belonged at the side of her face.

"They can't be common. I've never even seen one before yours," Vala said, trying to avoid outright refusing. She... wasn't sure if she wanted one. Even if they were useful. There was a difference between Aloy using one and Vala trying to follow.

"There's a lot of them in Mother's mountain. They were meant for the children who grew up there, but... Someone betrayed them so they didn't get them when they should have."

Vala felt a wash of relief flow down her. Of course. _Of course_. A safe bit of old world tech that did nothing but help, of course it was from Mother. She wasn't sure if she was worthy of such a thing, wasn't sure what the matriarchs would say if they saw her with one, but surely that meant it was okay for her to use.

Not to... She wouldn't want to depend on it.

But Aloy kept saying she could use it to see different things about the machines. To see when they were corrupted and how. To monitor those flowers. To see a wound and exactly how it hurt and how to fix it.

"Well?" Aloy asked, and Vala realized she had been silent for awhile.

Vala took a deep breath. "I-- There's no harm in having one, is there? Then if you needed another set of eyes through that thing I would have one to use."

"The more you get used to it the more useful it is," Aloy reassured her, looking delighted. "Once we're done with this we can go in and get one. It's... Well someone ought to see what the cradle _really_ is. And what it was supposed to be."

Vala reared back, eyes wide. "I couldn't go _into_ the mountain!"

Aloy's expression faltered. "It's-- It's not like you think. Trust me. You can go in. It'll let you in if you're with me."

"The matriarchs would never allow it." Vala grasped at the comforting excuse.

"They'll let you in if I ask," Aloy said dryly, looking half a second away from rolling her eyes for some reason.

Seeing Vala still hesitating, Aloy just shrugged. "Think about it?"

"Alright." Every bit of her said that was sacrilege... but who was she to tell _Aloy_ that?

The other woman's smile broadened, every bit of her radiating happiness. "We'll see then!" She glanced out at the snow with a wry look. "It'll be a while though. I don't think that snow is letting up."

"Probably not. We should start a fire. At least the snow will keep it from drawing anything towards us."

Aloy nodded, but didn't move.

Vala, really didn't want to move either. In a moment of impulsiveness she let herself lean into Aloy's side.

Aloy stiffened for half a moment, then made a tiny pleased little sound that sent Vala's stomach to flipping. In the next moment Aloy was cuddling closer to her, turning slightly to let Vala settle into her arms. "We can start the fire later."

"Mm."

"Probably right about as our noses get too cold."

Vala laughed, "We'll see. Have any old world tricks for that?"

Aloy hummed slightly into her hair. "I might."

She had a feeling that 'might' meant 'absolutely do' and that she probably wouldn't want to be within arm's reach of whatever the might was, assuming it didn't just involve blaze. But for now... she wanted to stay like this for a bit.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to Gammarad for betaing this <3 Especially since I dropped it on her at the very last second like the disaster that I am.


End file.
